In The Light
by EfinityFabala
Summary: when i see a shakespeare play then try to write warriors fanfiction. creepy intense poetic prophecy, lots of dialogue. not bad tho, i surprisingly think it's pretty darn good. go ahead and read it!
1. Prophecy

_In the light of battles past,_

_StarClan has made a unanimous decision._

_Give not to your friends but to your enemies._

_Share not with your Clanmates._

_Trust not your sisters._

_Believe not your brothers._

_You are destined to fall, O Silent One._

_Bear your shame with no indignance, no pride._

_And fall into murky nothingness, forgotten and alone._

"Great StarClan, that's the most depressing prophecy I've ever heard." Arrowstar's russet ears pricked as his medicine cat recited the words in his dream.

"Depressing or not, Brightspirit herself delivered it." Jaggedbranch was chilled to the core by the fierceness of this prophecy. He had always loved and respected Brightspirit as a fellow messenger of StarClan. But now, he didn't know what to think of her.

"Then StarClan is cruel and ridiculous!" Arrowstar bellowed. He must be thinking of his daughters and son, who he loved and cherished beyond normal standard. He would never be able to turn his back on them, as the prophecy commanded. Jaggedbranch pitied him, though he could not relate. He had no direct family in WindClan. His mother and father and brother were dead. He had no uncles or aunts or grandcats. And of course, he had no mate.

"Calm yourself, Arrowstar." Jaggedbranch laid his tail across the shoulders of his leader. They had always been close, had trained together and become warriors on the same night. "I may have... misinterpreted it."

"How could you misinterpret something so horridly frank?" Arrowstar wailed. Jaggedbranch cringed, willing the leader to be quiet. The Clan was sleeping.

"StarClan often plays with words. However annoying, this can sometimes be... a comfort. They could be talking about... um... mice." Jaggedbranch avoided the leader's hurt blue gaze.

"Mice?! Impossible. This prophecy spells doom for all of the Clans!" Arrowstar began to pace. Jaggedbranch watched him, worry creasing his expression. "Who is the '_Silent One'_?" Arrowstar demanded.

Jaggedbranch shrugged. "If I'd figured that out by now, I'd be the greatest medicine cat there ever was." Arrowstar cocked his head. "But I'm not. I'm just a mediocre former loner kit."

Arrowstar's stare hardened. "How can you say that? You were brought to WindClan before you were old enough to remember your own name."

"Nonetheless," Jaggedbranch sighed heavily. "I don't have pure blood."

Arrowstar narrowed his eyes. "What does that prove?"

"It proves that I will never be great," Jaggedbranch concluded.

Arrowstar gasped. "Tell that to Firestar!"

"_Firestar? _That old fool didn't know the first thing about leadership," Jaggedbranch scoffed, recalling several stories about the flame-colored leader.

"But _he's _a legend!" Arrowstar, clearly a Firestar fan, protested. Jaggedbranch narrowed his eyes.

"He's a fool who should have stayed inside of the fence."

Arrowstar also narrowed his eyes, his blue-yellow gaze hardening into a glare. "You are faithless, Jaggedbranch. Remember what good Firestar did for the Clans! He brought us to this lake. Without him, your paws would tread alone. You would be Clanless. Surely you don't want that?"

Jaggedbranch bristled, "Do not turn this on me, Arrowstar. Don't question my loyalty. Your claws could not slice deep enough to penetrate my loyalty in a thousand battles!"

"Battles are fought and lost, Jaggedbranch. Loyalty is forever."

"My point."

Arrowstar flicked his tail. "Enough bickering. We will discuss the prophecy with the Clan come morning." He began to pad back to his nest, but Jaggedbranch stepped forward.

"Not the entire Clan! Think of the innocent minds of the young!" _Think of your kits! Wallowpaw, Shinepaw, and Burrpaw._

"The senior warriors, then."

Arrowstar nodded curtly, and Jaggedbranch understood that he had been dismissed. He lowered his head and backed out of the leader's den.

* * *

**well that was pretty much really depressing stuff. sorry i saw a shakespeare play very recently and i'm in a weirdo mood. tell me what you thought anyway!**


	2. Conference

"Cats of WindClan, hear my call," Arrowstar yowled. Early light dappled the sky with orange clouds. The blue of day was still weak in the distance. The dawn patrol had only just set out.

Warriors and apprentices, queens and elders poked out of their dens, ears pricked to listen to their leader.

Arrowstar shuffled his paws on the Rockpile, suddenly slightly embarassed. But his Clan was waiting. "Erm, Smallthunder, Nettleclaw, Tanglepelt, Redstreak, and Frozenstorm, I need a conference with you in my den." The leader flicked his russet tail. Curiosity flashed in the eyes of his Clanmates.

"Are you sure we ought to tell them?" Arrowstar muttered to Jaggedbranch outside of the leader's den.

"Surely you're not suggesting we keep it from them?!" Jaggedbranch growled. He hated secrets.

"I'm merely concerned..."

Jaggedbranch softened. "We'll pull through this. We always do."

Together they slipped into the leader's den, a large cave carved into the only stretch of solid rock in all of WindClan. Smallthunder, a tabby tom, was the first to arrive, licking his lips after a fresh mouse. "What's the trouble, Arrowstar?" he rasped. Jaggedbranch was willing to bet that he'd be the next one to the elder's den.

Arrowstar nodded at the old tom. "We'll wait for the others." Smallthunder shrugged and began to groom his pelt.

Redstreak, the WindClan deputy, slid into the leader's den next, obscuring what little daylight they could see. "Good morning, Arrowstar, Jaggedbranch." She dipped her head to the both of them, fox-red pelt glowing in the dawn light.

"How's your apprentice doing, Redstreak?" Jaggedbranch piped up. Arrowstar's head shot up at the mention of his daughter.

Redstreak purred. "Burrpaw's well on her way to warriorship," she reported. "Passed a hunting assessment only yesterday."

"Wonderful!" Arrowstar purred. Nettleclaw, Frozenstorm, and Tanglepelt slipped in one-by-one, their eyes flashing in the darkness of the den. The cats' night vision granted them easy sight.

Jaggedbranch and Arrowstar exchanged a swift glance. Jaggedbranch nodded, sympathizing his leader's nervousness. Arrowstar had been young for a leader, but had proved himself well. "Senior warriors of WindClan," Jaggedbranch meowed, lifting his tail to call the floor. "Last night I recieved a dreadful prophecy from StarClan."

Gasps echoed around the cavern. Frozenstorm lashed her tail. Nettleclaw and Tanglepelt shook their heads in worry. Arrowstar raised his tail for quiet. "Jaggedbranch woke me and informed me of his dream. I warn you now; this is not kit stuff."

Jaggedbranch closed his eyes, wishing that being the medicine cat did not mean being the barer of such horrid news. So much rested on his shoulders. The Clan's daily decisions depended on his judgement, his interpretation of StarClan's word.

He recited the strange prophecy and tried not to shudder.

"_In the light of battles past, __StarClan has made a unanimous decision. __Give not to your friends but to your enemies. __Share not with your Clanmates. __Trust not your sisters. __Believe not your brothers. __You are destined to fall, O Silent One. __Bear your shame with no indignance, no pride. __And fall into murky nothingness, forgotten and alone._

"I'm sorry," Jaggedbranch meowed once he had finished, hanging his head.

"Great holy StarClan," Nettleclaw murmured, stiff as a tree trunk. Frozenstorm was blinking rapidly, her eyes foggy. Redstreak's look was purely calculating, as if she were trying to understand every word. Smallthunder and Frozenstorm had edged closer together during the recitation and were now trembling as one.

"What does it mean?" Tanglepelt barked. "Are we supposed to split up the Clan?!"

"No!" Frozenstorm gasped.

But Redstreak shook her head, her eyes narrow. "If it is the will of StarClan..." she murmured.

"Have you gone _mad?!_" Nettleclaw interrupted. "These are tense times between the four Clans. If we are not bound tighter than a beehive, we will fall to the other Clans' claws! We are _not_ splitting up."

Redstreak began to bristle. "But, the prophecy! _We_ are our own enemies!"

"Says one cat!" Nettleclaw scoffed. "_One_ cat. I will not abandon my family on the word of one cat."

Arrowstar bristled. "Nettleclaw! Jaggedbranch is our medicine cat. He is StarClan's messenger!"

"Then StarClan has turned its back on us! It no longer cares for us!" Nettleclaw leapt to his paws, only to hit his dark tortoiseshell head on the low roof of the cave. Jaggedbranch shook his head in horror.

"Nettleclaw, that is ridiculous," Jaggedbranch chastised slowly, quietly. "You must not offend the ancestors. Please."

"You are all fools!" Nettleclaw burst out. "I will not be a part of this monsterous action. I will take Graybird and our kits and leave WindClan!"

"Same here!" Frozenstorm and Tanglepelt yowled, twining their tails.

"Shut up, all of you!" Smallthunder rasped, hackles raising. His yellow eyes glared the other warriors down. "No one is leaving WindClan! Right, Arrowstar?"

All eyes turned to the russet leader, who looked dismayed and frantic at the same time.

"We all love our families..." he began slowly. "No one wants to split up. I'm not even sure that that's what the prophecy is willing..."

"Then what does it mean?" Tangleclaw meowed, his dusky brown ears pricking. Jaggedbranch shook his head slowly.

"We don't know..."

* * *

**huh. i don't know either... yet...**


End file.
